A Valentine's Day visit
by WarioMan3K
Summary: Whether in Diamond City or the Game Central Station within Diamond Arcade World, love is in the air. Of course, Valentine's Day isn't always restricted to couples as it's also normal that friends get to hang out with each other as normal. ONE-SHOT FIC, NOT PART OF MY "DIAMOND CITY CHRONICLES" SERIES TIMELINE.


Just thought I'd do a short fic to celebrate Valentine's Day, and this is for my online friend LovelyTekki, by the way. I got her permission to pair 9-Volt up with Cherry, one of her OCs from a distant realm called ChiWorld. Aside from that, we all know Valentine's Day is meant for couples, but when it comes to hanging out with friends like normal, there's nothing wrong with that sometimes.

EDIT: Added an extra part of the ending in which Pit admits his feelings for Phosphora.

**DISCLAIMER: WarioWare Inc. and Kid Icarus are properties of Nintendo; Bomberman belongs to Hudson Soft even though Konami took over its company back in March 2012; Wreck-It Ralph is owned by Disney. Final Fantasy is a property of Square-Enix; Contra is owned by Konami; Mortal Kombat used to belong to Midway prior to its transfer over to NetherRealm Studios in 2010, with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment as the current publisher today. All other arcade game franchises mentioned are properties of their respective owners.**

* * *

-A Valentine's Day visit-

From a distant realm known as ChiWorld came two visitors: Tekki the pink-haired mayor, and Princess Cherry of the Fruit Kingdom. To our surprise, some of our friends - 9-Volt, Cheerful White, Cute Pink, Pit, and even Phosphora - had known them for quite some time, though 9-Volt managed to introduce them to his best friend Phoebe. Both visitors possessed their own Chi Magic abilities; for example, Cherry could control her fire spells. Ironically, though, she was very caring towards nature despite its obvious weakness to fire.

Amongst Cherry and Tekki were 9-Volt, Phoebe, White, Pink, me, Ami, Bill Rizer, Lance Bean, Yuffie Kisaragi, 18-Volt, Pit, and Phosphora. As we told each other of our own adventures we had been through - such as our close-call victory over the evil Red Falcon Empire, and the time Arctic Bomber and Blaze Bomber helped Wario repel Purple Basilisk's attempted invasion on the Game Central Station within Diamond Arcade World - we made Wario Park our first stop on Valentine's Day by checking out its arcade center. Its list of arcade games, though less than what Diamond Arcade World had to offer, was as follows:

Donkey Kong 3 - Nintendo; 1983  
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time - Konami; 1991  
Sunset Riders - Konami; 1991  
The House of the Dead 2 - Sega; 1998  
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC - Midway; 1999  
Marvel VS Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - Capcom; 2000  
Capcom VS SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 - Capcom; 2001  
Time Crisis 3 - Namco; 2003  
Ghost Squad - Sega; 2004  
Mario Kart Arcade GP - Nintendo and Namco; 2005

9-Volt happily dashed towards the _Mario Kart Arcade GP_ cabinet to give it a try, and didn't mind letting Phoebe and Cherry take turns competing with him as it currently supported 2 players; in fact, they're both his Valentines since he believed that having two is sometimes better than one...though simply because they're kids. Bill, Lance, Ami, and I tried out _Sunset Riders_; White and Pink played _The House of the Dead 2_; and Pit and Phosphora went for _Ghost Squad_. Unsurprisingly, the three games had campy voice-acting at its best, not to mention laughable.

"This is fun, isn't it, Phoebe?" 9-Volt commented.

Phoebe nodded happily. "I know, right? I heard Cherry also likes _Kirby_ as much as we do."

"Mm-hmm. Though she may not look it, she's fairly strong herself for a guardian angel."

Cherry beamed. "Yep! Can I have my turn after you guys finish? I'd like to show 9-Volt what I'm capable of in _Mario Kart_."

"Sure, why not?" answered Phoebe. "Where's Tekki?"

"Oh, she's playing _Donkey Kong 3_ at the moment."

In the meantime, we caught a glimpse of Wario's two fraternity brothers joining a match in progress against Yuffie in _NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC_. Their names were Billy and Sid, though we quickly gave a reminder they're in no way related to the male counterparts of Poison and Roxy from the SNES and GBA versions of _Final Fight_ (at least, overseas).

"Hey, don't worry about it, fellas," said Billy. "We're used to being mistaken sometimes."

Sid added, "We're supposed to meet up with Wario and Mona for a go-karting session before they go out on a date, but I thought why not stop by to say hi and play NBA Showtime for a little bit."

"That's cool," said Yuffie. "Even us heroes need some time off, let alone on Valentine's Day." She proceeded to play the game with Wario's fraternity brothers for the first quarter and stopped there a few minutes later, regardless of whose team had scored higher. "Aww, rats! You got me there...oh well. I'm gonna go with 9-Volt, 18-Volt, Phoebe, Tekki, and Cherry to the bowling alley as soon as they're done."

"YAY!" Cherry cheered. "We're gonna have a bowling party on Valentine's Day! Good thing I brought my own bowling ball, the StarSpeed Crimson."

"Cool!" beamed Phoebe. "I have some special skills I taught 9-Volt one time, that I wanna show you guys."

Just for the heck of it, though, Phoebe and Cherry hugged 9-Volt and kissed his cheeks affectionately. "Best friends!" they blurted.

9-Volt giggled happily. "Girls, take it easy! We're just kids."

Phosphora, the Lightning Flash and Pit's best friend from Skyworld, patted 9-Volt's head soothingly. "They're just being silly with you, sweetie. Well, have fun bowling!"

"We'll see you guys later!" Pit hollered. "Phosphora and I are going over to Diamond Arcade World. What about you and Ami, Aaron?"

"Sorry, Pit," I replied. "We're actually gonna ride on some WarioWare-themed rollercoasters with Bill and Lance for a while."

"Yeah," agreed Ami. "I bet White and Pink are also going bowling with 9-Volt's friends."

"I promised her I'd play _Sugar Rush_ for a few matches, but we appreciate the offer," said Cheerful White.

"We're going as Rancis and Vanellope," added Cute Pink. "just like in the tie-in storybook to _Wreck-It Ralph_, One Sweet Race."

Bill chuckled in response, at least in a nice way. "Alright you two, take it easy. Though you're a little older than 9-Volt and Phoebe, you're still Bomber-kids."

"Maybe you could pay a visit to the _Sugar Rush_ racers while you're at it..." Lance paused momentarily. "Nah, I'm just foolin'. Have fun at Blaze's arcade center with Pit and Phosphora. At least Purple Basilisk and his goons can't break into its Game Central Station anymore."

"And no signs of Zero at all, thank goodness," said Tekki.

"You mean that guy with really long blonde hair?" wondered Billy. "I thought he was..."

"You don't wanna know. Trust me."

Sid scratched his head momentarily, though he agreed anyway. "Oh, okay. We never could adapt to his melee-style combat in _Mega Man X4_ anyway."

* * *

Thus we went our separate ways to our own Valentine's Day parties. Though the bowling regulations did not say anything about going in a formal dress, 9-Volt and friends let it slide for now in Cherry's case. Prior to beginning their friendly bowling session, Cherry let 9-Volt and Phoebe in on her secret about her "Candy-sona" being Cherry Fizz - at least whenever she'd visit the world of _Sugar Rush_, but not before having them pinky-finger promise they'd keep it between themselves.

"Now that it's over with, I have something for us to say together. On the count of 3, we shout _We're gonna strike it!_ like we mean it."

"9-Volt was right: you're also the definition of fun like me," commented Phoebe.

9-Volt blushed. "True. Okay, 1..."

Phoebe followed up, "2..."

Then came Cherry, "3!"

And the three kids blurted in unison: "We're gonna strike it!"

Meanwhile, 18-Volt shed a happy tear in his eye. "My li'l buddy's grown so fast...mentally speaking."

Yuffie nodded. "Mm-hmm, and that's good. He's a great kid to all his friends - boys and girls. That's why I'm his guardian angel."

On the other hand, Tekki was getting herself ready to bowl with her friends. "Zero and that evilly selfish cat Garfield don't scare me! I think I'll pretend the bowling pins represent them. Believe me, I can't stand those two in real life, though Garfield did move to ChiWorld one time before I saw his true colors in person. I'm glad I got rid of him before he had a chance to ruin my birthday party."

"Birthday party, huh? Was 9-Volt invited?" asked Yuffie.

Tekki giggled happily and said, "Of course I invited him! He's a much better person than Zero, Garfield, and that bratty goddess Viridi any day. Well, he did bring Phoebe along to introduce to Cherry during the party."

While the group took turns rolling heavy bowling balls straight down the lane at the pins, they wondered if the people of _Game Central Station_ also celebrate Valentine's Day. In fact, it was really happening right now as Blaze's Diamond Arcade World closed today elsewhere in Diamond City. Although White, Pink, Pit, and Phosphora were a bit disappointed they wouldn't be able to check out the other arcade games, they too believed the arcade characters within are spending that one day as well. Therefore, they headed to Crygor Labs to borrow some Telmets under one condition: that they be careful not to die since they're not native to any of the games in GCS. Afterwards, they came back and teleported themselves inside the virtual world itself.

* * *

Cheerful White was the first to be amazed. "Wow! It's an amazing world in there!"

"It's just like _Wreck-It Ralph_!" agreed Cute Pink, just before she and her friends were stopped by the blue-bodied Surge Protector.

"Excuse me, guys. Your names?" The quartet introduced themselves as requested. "Mm-hmm, and what game are you from?"

Thinking quickly not to give themselves away, they had to come up with a valid excuse. "Pink and I are from...err..._Bomberman Land Touch! 2_ on the DS," White explained sheepishly.

"And Phosphora and I...umm..." Pit was figuring out what to say next, "let's just say we're from _Kid Icarus: Uprising_ on the 3DS."

"Any goods you have?" The preteen Bombermen shook their heads no in response to the Surge Protector's question; Pit and Phosphora followed suit. "Thank you, and welcome to Game Central Station. Enjoy your Valentine's Day."

During their visit, the group saw plenty of characters from all sorts of arcade games hanging out with each other, some of which were paired up for that day: Ryu and Chun Li from _Street Fighter II: The World Warrior_, Liu Kang and Kitana from _Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3_, Cody and Jessica from _Final Fight_; even some "baddies" like Andore and Poison, though much to Pit and Phosphora's surprise.

"You are new here," the Shaolin monk spoke with a Chinese accent. "Who are you people?"

_Uh-oh...we can't let them know we're not really game characters,_ thought White.

"We're from the _Bomberman_ franchise, and that's Pit and Phosphora from _Kid Icarus: Uprising,_" explained Pink.

"What we're saying is, we're console game characters," the Lightning Flash summarized with a sheepish grin.

Liu Kang and Kitana couldn't believe what they were actually hearing, but it didn't take much for the explanation to sink in. Thus, the female warrior said, "We hardly get any visitors from the console world, but I believe we heard about a big guy named Wario who saved Game Central Station with Arctic Bomber and Blaze Bomber's assistance."

"This Basilisk Dynasty, from what Sergeant Calhoun told us one time, sounded troublesome. I am Liu Kang, a Shaolin monk of China from Earthrealm."

"My name is Kitana, princess of Edenia from Outworld. Though I am an adopted daughter of the evil Emperor Shao Kahn, I learned the truth about him and my so-called twin sister Mileena. Had I not escaped to join the warriors of Earthrealm, I would never have lived to meet Liu Kang today. I even convinced my close friend Jade to join me as we fight to free my mother Sindel from Shao Kahn's mental control."

Pit held his mouth open in amazement. "Wow...that must have been painful to bear."

"Being the Princess of Edenia is not easy, during or between 'gaming' hours..." admitted Kitana.

"On the positive side," said Liu Kang, "we do get to spend some time knowing each other. We may be mere mortals no matter how old we are, but since we came to the arcade and spoke with Felix and Calhoun, we felt more welcome at home...in or outside our own game. Still, while Shao Kahn is aware that he is in a game like us, he apparently believes the Earthrealm to extend beyond that of this world and will do what it takes to conquer it. We Kombatants - including Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Jax, and even Raiden - constantly strive to make sure he doesn't 'go Turbo', as Ralph would say."

"At least Kano's aware that even 'bad guys' can't mess with the code like he warned Ralph at a Bad-Anon meeting," commented White, though his best friend Pink was worried.

"I hope he doesn't plan on expanding his Black Dragon clan beyond GCS."

"Do not worry, my young friends," assured Liu Kang. "Sonya and Jax are keeping a close eye on him as we speak, since they have been pursuing him for who knows how long."

"For now, let us venture on to celebrate this Valentine's Day," said Kitana. "Felix and Calhoun are waiting for us in _Fix-It Felix Jr._"

As the three different pairs walked towards their destination, they saw Gloyd Orangeboar happily running around Game Central Station with Jubileena Bing-Bing and Citrusella Flugpucker, each making airplane noises. Rancis Fluggerbutter, on the other hand, danced to the _Sugar Rush_ theme song with Vanellope von Schweetz and Candlehead, the latter having her pet Bob-omb named Candle Ball around at the moment. "Go, Rancis! Go Rancis!" the two girls cheered.

Phosphora beamed happily. "Aww, they all look adorable together! I guess 9-Volt was right about two girls being better than one for a kid-friendly version of Valentine's Day with a boy. Don't you think so too?"

"Yeah, sometimes," added Pit, "and I think they deserve to live."

Liu Kang assured once more, "Raiden won't let Shao Kahn harm the innocent people outside our game. Do not worry."

"As long as he doesn't put these Cy-Bugs to his diabolical use, the arcade will be safe for years to come," said Kitana.

* * *

They all met up with Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sergeant Tamora Jean "T.J." Calhoun at his namesake game, and thought up a great idea for a four-couples date: they would enter a contest in _Cruis'n World_ normally unavailable to the players outside Game Central Station, in which four boy-girl teams compete in fourteen straightforward tracks span across the globe in many different countries to see who is the best Valentine's Day couple. The timer and AI opponents would be disabled, but the in-game traffic cars are kept in for the challenge; the couple may also take turns driving the same vehicle if they wish. Of course, the four women have to make sure their boys aren't caught ogling the trophy girls at the end of every track, though Cheerful White knows better because he and Cute Pink are only in their preteens. Then again, it wasn't uncommon for Midway to include bikini-clad women in their _Cruis'n_ series.

In Pit's case, he knew he'd be in for a playful shock if he were caught staring at a single trophy girl even for a bit since he didn't like getting static electricity in his hair, no matter how much he wanted to overlook the one time he had to face Phosphora in combat way back when she worked for the Forces of Nature. Still, he couldn't help but admire her as a formidable warrior in her own way, being that he was the first ever to have "rode out the storm" as he put it.

"Whatcha thinking about, Pit?"

"Hmm? Oh, you mean the race or the lady holding a checkered flag up front? Wait, that's not what I meant to-"

Phosphora interrupted him with a stern look on her face. "Don't lie to me."

The angel boy sighed in defeat. "Okay, you win. I was thinking about that lady over there just now, but what I'm trying to say is I am new to games like this with women in bikinis and stuff...guess it's safe to assume that's Midway for us, whatever it's called. If the one holding the flag or a gold trophy were _you_, on the other hand...wait, that didn't come out right."

The girl laughed happily at what Pit said just now, playfully ruffling his brown hair. "Oh geez, pal! You didn't have to picture me wearing _that_ outfit and holding a flag or trophy just to admit your feelings. Still, that's what I love about you as a friend: silly, but cute and honest, even when you're shorter than me." She reached over to the other side of the car and kissed his cheek affectionately.

"Happy Valentine's Day. Tell you what, we'll take turns driving this car every two races to show everyone what we're capable of, win or lose, and you can think of me while I drive. But no naughty thoughts or I'll tickle you!" She flashed the angel boy a sly wink either way.

"You know me too well, Phosphora," chuckled Pit, "and don't worry, I promise-"

"_Pinky-finger_ promise."

"Right, right. I pinky-finger promise to think only clean thoughts about you. I'll let you go first because you're the most beautiful and awesome person I know, not to brag or anything. After all, ladies first, right?"

THE END

(Ending Credits)  
Cheerful White - TARA STRONG  
Cute Pink - JANICE KAWAYE  
Pit - ANTONY DEL RIO  
Phosphora - KARI WAHLGREN  
Liu Kang - TOM CHOI  
Kitana - KAREN STRASSMAN  
9-Volt - TARA STRONG  
Phoebe - HYNDEN WALCH  
Cherry - ASHLEIGH BALL  
Tekki - ANDREA LIBMAN  
Yuffie Kisaragi - CHRISTY CARLSON ROMANO  
Aaron (me) - MYSELF  
Ami - JANICE KAWAYE  
Bill Rizer - BOB BUCHHOLZ  
Lance Bean - SYLVESTER STALLONE  
Billy - SAM RIEGEL  
Sid - FRANK FRANKSON  
18-Volt - CHRIS RAGER  
Surge Protector - PHIL JOHNSTON

[End Credits]

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I hope you enjoyed my V-Day short fic, and as always, feel free to review!


End file.
